INSTEP Magzine

'Stayin' Alive'
The Bee Gees
'Stayin' Alive' plays out over the opening credits of 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever, forever marking The Bee Gees as disco singers, the film as the eternal representative of the Disco era and the song the anthem of that era.

The Bee Gees were asked to write a few songs for a soundtrack that music director (and The Bee Gees' manager) Robert Stigwood was working on. At that point the film was in it's initial stages and didn't even have a title. The Bee Gees wrote this song sitting on the staircase of Chateau D'Herouville, a French studio and recorded it there as well, as did Pink Floyd, for tax reasons.

Sung in a falsetto typical to The Bee Gees, the song has a light beat, which inspires everyone to do their best 'Travolta' whenever played. One cover of 'Stayin Alive' to look for would be the one by Dweezil Zappa, with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals.

'Disco Deewane'
Nazia Hassan
Pakistan's Pop Princess Nazia Hassan first gained attention with 'Aap Jaisa Koi' which was part of the Qurbani soundtrack by Biddu. After the success of this song, Biddu decided to produce an entire album with Nazia Hassan. When brainstorming the title of the album, Biddu came up with Disco Deewane, which inspired him so much that he wrote the song 'Disco Deewane' in one night.

Nazia and Zoheb Hassan recorded the song very soon after that. The rest, as they say, is history. 'Disco Deewane' was an instant hit, not just in Pakistan, but all over the world. The success of this 1980 album drove the BBC to invite the young duo for an interview.

A very funky song, though not out of place in the Disco genre, but ahead of its time as far as Pakistani music goes, 'Disco Deewane' conjures up images of disco lights, smoke emitted by machines and soap bubbles, in other words, Pakistan's take on Disco in the '80s.


'Dard-e-Disco' Om Shanti Om Perhaps garnering more attention because of a tightly six-packed Shah Rukh Khan than anything else, 'Dard-e-Disco' has become one of the most popular songs of late. Not so much Disco as it is an 'item number' in Om Shanti Om, (cleverly filmed within the film as a forced item number as well), 'Dard-e-Disco' is somehow still making it to everyone's list of favourite "Disco" songs. The chorus is catchy and the beat fast, 'Dard-e-Disco' is very feel-good and as one fan of the song puts it, "is an absolute high, like gulping down a cup of tea or chewing on chhalia!"

'I Am A Disco Dancer' Disco Dancer Why is it that the mention of Mithun Chakraborty's name brings to mind the actor in a golden bodysuit, headband and sparkly shoes? The answer is simple: the film Disco Dancer; the song 'I Am A Disco Dancer' in particular. A couple of decades ago, Mithun captured the hearts of thousands of girls across the sub-continent as he did his pre-song speech "D is for Dance, I is for item, C is for chorus, O is for orchestra/ Come on and dance with me!" With typical Bollywood Disco beats and music, 'I Am A Disco Dancer' is a real winner. The song is singable and danceable, Mithun looks like a million bucks in his glitzy garb and almost 30 years later, it can still make people get up and shake their thang!

'Like A Prayer' Madonna 'Like A Prayer' was released on Madonna's album by the same name in 1989. Already a dance/ pop number, 'Like a Prayer' has been remixed several times, often turning it into a Disco tune more than pop. 'Like A Prayer' was released in February 1989 in the U.S and reached the top in the Billboard Hot 100 the same year. When it was released in the UK a month later, it entered the UK Singles Charts at number two and soon climbed to the number one position. It is said that Madonna was deeply inspired by David Bowie and Prince for the music of 'Like A Prayer'. The song's video also generated a fair amount of conspiracy as it shows the artist singing in front of burning crucifixes. The song has been remixed many times over, by artists such as Blue, Mad'House and pop-punk band Rufio and Shep Pettibone.